Business category, Page 293
Microsoft pledges $500M to tackle Seattle housing crisis
SEATTLE — Microsoft pledged $500 million to address homelessness and develop affordable housing in response to the Seattle region’s widening affordability gap. Most of the money will be aimed at increasing housing options in the Puget Sound region for low- and middle-income workers at a time when they’re being priced...
YouTube to ban ‘harmful or dangerous’ prank, challenge videos
YouTube is bringing down the hammer on “harmful or dangerous content” in the wake of viral challenges that place content creators in potentially serious danger. The company recently announced the content crack-down, and singled out videos that present an apparent risk of death, videos that cause children to experience emotional...
Survey: Younger drivers can identify emojis, not car dashboard alert
Younger drivers can identify emojis, but a common car dashboard alert throws them, according to a new survey. Millennials and Gen Zers are 1.5 times more likely to identify popular emojis correctly than the tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) warning symbol, according to the survey commissioned by Goodyear Auto Service...
Sears staves off liquidation, stores to remain open
NEW YORK — Sears will live on— at least for now. The company’s chairman and largest shareholder, Eddie Lampert, won a bankruptcy auction for Sears, averting liquidation of the iconic chain, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. The person agreed to speak on condition of anonymity because they...
PG&E bankruptcy looms, CEO to exit as fire costs dwarf cash
PG&E Corp. said it will file for bankruptcy in California after the cost of wildfires left it with potential liabilities of $30 billion or more, gutting its share price and prompting the departure of its chief executive officer. The San Francisco-based company said it intends to reorganize under Chapter 11...
Burger King trolls Trump on Twitter
DETROIT — Burger King is needling President Trump for his tweet about ordering more than 1,000 “hamberders” for the Clemson University Tigers’ visit to the White House after winning the college football championship. The spelling error was quickly corrected. But Burger King jumped in with a tweet of its own:...
Gillette ad brings mixed response, 400K YouTube dislikes
Razor company Gillette is making a statement with its new commercial. The company posted “We Believe: The Best Men Can Be” to its Twitter account and YouTube channel this week, calling attention to the #MeToo movement and depicting men acting in stereotypical ways. The video has more than 10.7 million...
Feds to ease rules on drone flights over crowds and at night
Federal officials plan to ease restrictions on flying small drones over crowds and at night, which would give a boost to the commercial use of unmanned aircraft. The Federal Aviation Administration outlined draft rules Monday that would let drone operators do those things without a special waiver from current rules....
PNC Bank to buy Allentown-based Ambassador Financial Group
PNC Bank has reached a “definitive agreement” with Ambassador Financial Group Inc. to purchase the Allentown-based broker-dealer, PNC announced Monday. Upon closing in the second quarter of 2019, Ambassador Financial Group will become a subsidiary of PNC Bank. Ambassador is a provider of balance sheet management, investment banking and capital...
Netflix raising prices for 58M U.S. subscribers as costs rise
SAN FRANCISCO — Netflix is raising its U.S. prices by 13 percent to 18 percent, its biggest increase since the company launched its streaming service 12 years ago. Its most popular plan will see the largest hike, to $13 per month from $11. That option offers high-definition streaming on up...
Airbnb says it made a profit again in 2018
Airbnb Inc. said it made money for a second straight year, based on a common measure that excludes some expenses, as the online home-rental service prepares for an initial public offering. Airbnb said in a memo that it generated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization in 2018. A spokesperson...
Texas recyclers face challenges of weak demand, low prices
HOUSTON — Oceans choked with discarded plastics. Beached whales found with hundreds of pieces of plastics in their stomachs. Soil contaminated by tiny fragments of plastics. The Houston Chronicle reports as environmentalists, corporations and the public increasingly focus on the mass of plastics discarded every day, they are running into...
Volkswagen to build electric vehicles at Tennessee plant
German automaker Volkswagen said Monday its factory in Tennessee will be the focus of an $800 million investment in the company’s manufacturing of electric vehicles in North America. Volkswagen made a couple of announcements that will expand its plant in Chattanooga and create 1,000 jobs there as the factory gears...
Egg photo becomes most-liked Instagram post – huh?
A photo of an egg, just an ordinary egg, became the most-liked photo on Instagram Sunday night, toppling the previous mark set by a photo posted by reality television personality and model Kylie Jenner. “Let’s set a world record together and get the most liked post on Instagram,” the post,...
Citigroup adjusted profits rise by 9 percent, beats estimate
NEW YORK — Citigroup is reporting its profits rose by 9 percent on an adjusted basis from a year earlier, helped by a lower tax rate and a reduction in expenses. Citi said Monday it earned $4.31 billion in the last three months of 2018, or a profit of $1.64...
Ford and Cadillac SUVs, Toyota sports car star at Detroit auto show
DETROIT — SUVs and a big pickup truck will get top billing at Detroit’s auto show this year, but there are some surprise sports cars and electric vehicles on the agenda. Press days for the show begin Monday, although there are a couple of unveils set for before the show...
PG&E, facing colossal liability, seeks bankruptcy protection
SAN FRANCISCO — Facing potentially colossal liabilities over deadly California wildfires, PG&E will file for bankruptcy protection. The announcement Monday follows the resignation of the power company’s chief executive a day earlier. Shares plunged by 50 percent before the opening bell. PG&E said Monday that it’s given the required 15-day...
USA Today publisher targeted for buyout
DENVER — The publisher of USA Today has received a $1.36 billion buyout bid from a media group with a history of taking over struggling newspapers and slashing jobs. MNG Enterprises, better known as Digital First Media, said in a letter to Gannett Co. Monday that its leadership team has...
China’s 2018 trade surplus with U.S. hits record high $323B
BEIJING — China’s 2018 trade surplus with the United States surged to a record $323.3 billion but exports contracted in December as the delayed impact of President Donald Trump’s tariff hikes started to hurt demand. Exports to the United States in 2018 rose 11.3 percent to $478.4 billion despite Trump’s...
Lonely? Tech firms hope you’ll use an app for that
The post-Internet era has ushered in generations of socially awkward adults who’ve long leaned on technology for their social kicks. But as millennials age out of college, many adults have found themselves … well, painfully lonely. And tech companies have taken note. Technology titans and fledgling startups alike — including...
Ferro Corp. to shut down Washington County plant, affecting 210 jobs
WASHINGTON, Pa. — An international chemical company has announced plans to shut down a western Pennsylvania plant, cutting about 160 jobs and relocating 50 more. Ferro Corp. said Friday the Canton Township plant in Washington County that produces functional coatings and color solutions will close in late 2019 or early...
Elliott Group COO Michael Lordi named CEO
Elliott Group Chief Operating Officer Michael Lordi has been named CEO of the Jeannette-based company. Lordi succeeds outgoing CEO Yasuyuki Uruma, who has retired after 47 years with the Elliott Group and its parent company, the Tokyo-based Ebara Corp. “Going forward, we will continue to strengthen the Elliott brand by...
GM raises 2018 forecast, predicts stronger 2019 earnings
DETROIT — General Motors strengthened its pretax profit estimate for 2018 and predicted even stronger performance for this year as it executives made a presentation to investors on Friday. Shares jumped 7 percent at the opening bell. CEO Mary Barra also says the company doesn’t foresee any further job cuts...
Cheaper gas sends U.S. consumer prices down 0.1 percent
WASHINGTON — Consumer prices slipped 0.1 percent last month, pulled down by sharply lower gas prices and cheaper air fares, used cars, and mobile phone plans. The Labor Department said the consumer price index rose just 1.9 percent in December from a year earlier, the first time it has fallen...
U.S. restaurant prices jump the most since 2011
Full-service restaurants, facing higher labor and food costs, raised prices the most in more than seven years in December, a Labor Department report released Friday shows. As grocery costs rise at a slower pace, that could push more U.S. consumers to eat at home, potentially shifting sales away from sit-down...
